“Baby?” Olivia thought as she walked on down the road ignoring his cat call.

“Okay then, how about darling?” “Do you like darling better?”

Once more Olivia gave Tanner a drop dead look and kept walking.

“Grrr!” he growled low and appreciatively wondering how she could look so good… as she walked so mad.

Olivia had always been a bit taken with Tanner, but he usually seemed so full of himself that she didn’t want to encourage anything.

Tanner yelled out again…. “Aw Olivia, come on and talk with me.”

She stopped, flipped her auburn hair and replied… “Tanner Hawkins, if you can’t act better than that, I am not talking to you.” And with another flip, this time with her hip, she started to walk off.

Tanner grabbed her arm and apologized. “Sorry Olivia, it’s just you’re so dang pretty and all.”

Olivia smiled rather coyly as she asked what they needed to talk about.

Tanner smiling with his big blue eyes said, “bout’ when we were getting married…that’s all.

A few years later . . .

Brushing her thick hair off her flushed face, Olivia bent over to pick up their one year old, Hunter and tote him to the car. Strapping him in, Olivia called out to Tanner…

“Honey,” let’s go.

Tanner literally ran out the door, jumped in the van and slammed the door. All dressed up in khaki pants with a deep blue button-down shirt and smelling of after shave, his blue eyes popped with the contrast. Tanner definitely cleaned up quite handsome.

Looking over at his wife, Olivia seemed a little down.

“What’s the matter, hon?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Yes, nothing.”

One thing Tanner had learned these past six years with a woman…nothing meant something.

“Really Hon, what’s the matter?”

Tears welled up in her eyes and before she could stop them they spilled down her cheeks making streaks in her blush.

“You used to tell me I was pretty, or you would go... Grrr! growling at me made me feel like we shared a secret.”

“But now that I’ve had Hunter, and still have all this extra weight, you hardly notice me at all.”

Wisely, Tanner held his tongue. Waiting for her to finish, he reached over and grabbed her hand and kissed it.

“You’re right; I’ve done a poor job in making you feel special.”

“Forgiven?”

Olivia nodded.

“Grrr!” he growled low with a wink.

She laughed.

Fifteen years later . . .

Tanner looked around for the television clicker…not finding it he yelled out…

“Olivia, do you know where the clicker is?”

“Look under the magazine on the table.”

Finding it Tanner settled in for a comfortable night of T.V. and a nap. Hunter was out with his friends and Olivia was at the computer writing…her new found passion. Tanner was fine with that but between hot flashes and writing she didn’t seem to have much energy for him.

Olivia was almost giddy to finally sit at the computer and put her story on paper…so to speak. Relief hit her as she heard Tanner snoring softly. Thank goodness he’s asleep. No more growling tonight… she giggled to herself.

Tanner woke up slowly. The T.V. was still going and the lights were on. At fifty he didn’t jump up quite as quickly as he used to but God had given him good health and he was grateful. He wandered into the office seeing Olivia still hunched over the keyboard.

“Hon, you ready to go to bed?”

“Not just yet, babe, you go ahead.”

Tanner’s face fell and his shoulders slumped. He turned and walked slowly to the bedroom. Then thinking better of it, he turned and went back to Olivia.

“Olivia, between flashing, writing and everything else…well, I just don’t feel like you want me around much.”

Olivia jerked her head up and looked towards her husband of twenty five years.

“Oh dear,” she thought, “What have I done?”

Getting up from her desk Olivia walked over to Tanner and grabbed his face.

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